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Ray Herndon

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Ray Herndon
Born (1960-07-14) July 14, 1960 (age 64)
OriginArcadia neighborhood of Phoenix, Arizona, United States[1]
GenresLand
Occupation(s)Singer/songwriter, musician
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar,
Years active1964–present
LabelsDualtone Records
MCA Records
Compendia Records
Formerly ofLyle Lovett's Large Band[2]
McBride & the Ride
J. David Sloan and the Rogues
Websitewww.thebash.com/country/the-herndon-brothers

Ray Herndon (born July 14, 1960) is an American country singer/songwriter and guitarist known mainly for playing with Lyle Lovett's Large Band and McBride & the Ride.

Early life and education

Ray Herndon grew up in an Arizona musical family. His father, Brick Herndon, also from a musical family, was a musician, band leader and owner of a Scottsdale, Arizona, club, Handlebar J, that played country music. Herndon's older two brothers were also musicians;[3] by age three he appeared with them on local television, singing, dancing and playing instruments.[4] At age four he had cut a Christmas song in Los Angeles for RCA and at seven was playing guitar in his father's band.[5] He studied jazz at Mesa Community College; one of the guitar workshops there as led by Joe Pass.[6] He continued playing at Handlebar J through his years at school. Shortly after finishing at Mesa Community College he left the family business,[5] joining a Phoenix houseband, J. David Sloan and the Rogues.[3]

Career

The Rogues were invited to play at the 1983 Schueberfouer in Luxembourg.[7] He met Lyle Lovett there and invited him to sit in with the band,[8] which did some of his songs. They opened his eyes to what his songs could sound like with proper backing. Sloan offered Lovett a deal on studio time, first day free. In 1984 Lovett took him up on the offer. After several stays in Arizona over that summer he recorded 18 songs. The demo tape of the 18 songs led to his first record deal. Thus began to a long relationship Herndon has had with Lovett; he became lead guitarist in 1985,[9] played on many of his recordings, sang a duet with him on his first album[7] and toured with him, off and on, from 1983. "Looking to expand his horizons,"[5] he became a founding member of the country group McBride & the Ride; they had early success with four consecutive top-five singles. He has had three stints with McBride & the Ride, 1989–1994, 2000–2002[10] and when they reconstituted in 2021. The 1994 split was caused by their label, which was looking for mass appeal with a different style. After the 2002 split, he released a solo album, Livin’ the Dream (with musical guests, including Lyle Lovett, Jessi Colter, Jon Randall Stewart, Sonya Isaacs and Clint Black). Herndon called the 2021 iteration "almost Zen-like." In February, 2022, the band had their first Nashville concert in 20 years.[11][9][12][10] He continued writing songs during these periods. His major songwriting successes were co-writing Kenny Chesney's breakout Me and You and his own My Dog Thinks I'm EIlvis, which was used in a television commercial for Radio Shack. Besides Chesney, he has written songs for Aaron Tippin, Lee Greenwood, Linda Davis, Sonya Isaacs and McBride & the Ride.[3]


Return to Arizona

After his time as a Nashville songwriter,[13] he returned to Arizona to help his family run the Handlebar J, where he and his bother Ron do weekly shows.[14][15] In 2004 he and Jessi Colter hosted a show at the restaurant as a tribute to Waylon Jennings. It was called Outlaw Connection, carried by SIRIUS and introduced by Steven Van Zandt.[16] Other participants included Hank Williams Jr., Shooter Jennings, Tony Furtado, and Tony Joe White.[17] In 2008, he was inducted into the Arizona Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame.[18] In 2015 Herndon returned to the recording studio. Former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods, to showcase Arizona in a different light, "rounded up a cast of Phoenix-area all-stars" and cut an album called Grant Woods' The Project. Herndon sang What Else Could I Do.[19][20] After his mother died in 2017 he bought out his brothers and became the sole owner of the restaurant, which has been family owned since 1975.[21] He has remained active in the local Arizona music scene with mentoring young artists[22] and 2022 performances with Matt Rollings[23] and a tribute to Jerry Riopelle.[24] On Herndon's decision to leave Nashville and return to Arizona, Lyle Lovett commented:

Someone as immensely talented as Ray Herndon chooses to live where he's from, to run his family's business and uphold his family's legacy. That's where life is for Ray. And I just admire that greatly.[7]

See also

Interview[25]

References

  1. ^ "Musical stars with Arizona connections". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
  2. ^ Blackstock, Peter. "Review: Lyle Lovett & His Large Band at ACL Live, night one". austin360. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
  3. ^ a b c "Ray Herndon Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
  4. ^ "McBride & the Ride Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
  5. ^ a b c Crowley, Larry. "RIBS REVISITEDCOUNTRY MUSIC SIMMERS AT HERNDONS' HANDLEBAR-J". Phoenix New Times. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
  6. ^ Leatherman, Benjamin. "Mr. Lucky's Oral History: 55 Years of Wild Tales From Phoenix's Iconic Country Nightclub". Phoenix New Times. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
  7. ^ a b c Masley, Ed. "Lyle Lovett on his new album '12th of June' and how a Phoenix house band changed his life". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
  8. ^ Coughlin, Kevin. "Lyle Lovett and His Band loom Large in Morristown | Morristown Green". Retrieved 2022-06-16.
  9. ^ a b Trigger (2021-03-10). "90's Country Trio 'McBride & The Ride' to Ride Once Again". Saving Country Music. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
  10. ^ a b Morris 1/12/2005, Edward. "Ray Herndon Ready for the Spotlight". CMT News. Retrieved 2022-06-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ "McBride & The Ride To Play First Nashville Show In 20 Years". MusicRow.com. 2022-01-27. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
  12. ^ "McBride & The Ride Full Tour Schedule 2022 & 2023, Tour Dates & Concerts – Songkick". www.songkick.com. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
  13. ^ "Herndon Family & Handlebar J". Arizona Music & Entertainment Hall Of Fame. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
  14. ^ "Arizona Country Roads". PHOENIX magazine. 2014-07-01. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
  15. ^ "Handlebar J events".
  16. ^ Waylon Jennings tribute[1]
  17. ^ "RolandNote.com: The Ultimate Country Music Database". rolandnote.com. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
  18. ^ "Inductees". Arizona Music & Entertainment Hall Of Fame. Retrieved 2022-06-20.
  19. ^ Grant Woods' the Project - Michael Nitro - Download or Listen Free - JioSaavn, 2015-05-14, retrieved 2022-06-21
  20. ^ Masley, Ed. "Former Attorney General Grant Woods shares musical side". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
  21. ^ Sole owner of HBJ[2]
  22. ^ deFabry, Megan (2021-09-13). "The Rise of Josh Scott". Cowboy Lifestyle Network. Retrieved 2022-06-23.
  23. ^ Cristi, A. A. "Matt Rollings Comes Home To Phoenix". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2022-06-23.
  24. ^ Masley, Ed. "'He was like Phoenix's Elvis': How Valley musicians honor an adopted local legend". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2022-06-23.
  25. ^ "Interview with Brian Cartrand". music.amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2022-06-23.
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